Niche Top Strategy for Cross-fertilization
There is a need in the world for someone who has both Knowledge A and Knowledge B.
Consider the following three
Who invested 100 time in knowledge A (100, 0)
100 time invested in knowledge B (0, 100)
Who invested 100 time in both (50, 50)
If the utility is just a sum, they are all the same.
But in a situation where "we need someone who has both Knowledge A and Knowledge B," it is hard to imagine that someone with zero knowledge of either domain would be selected.
That is, a utility function that evaluates both in moderation, such as min(a, b) or a * b.
Since such a need actually exists, the "cross-fertilization niche top strategy" attempts to fulfill that need by studying multiple fields. A term coined by Nishio.
It was not clearly verbalized, but in retrospect, we had repeatedly referred to similar concepts since 2011.
In the above model, knowledge is gained linearly with time invested.
If there is diminishing knowledge gain, it is advantageous to learn more than one field of study, even if the utility of mere sums
While it is possible to think of knowledge gains increasing, a model in which only the top players in the market monopolize utility seems more realistic.
Point out that when considering the formation of a multi-person team, combining (100, 0) and (0, 100) results in a large overhead cost for coordination of interests due to differences in thinking and priorities. 2018-01-09
---
This page is auto-translated from /nishio/掛け合わせニッチトップ戦略. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I'm very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.